


We’re All Made of Glass (But I Don’t Really Want to Shatter)

by emilyisnotmyname



Category: Pocket Monsters SPECIAL | Pokemon Adventures
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, I'll tag as I go, Moon and Platina are sisters, title is liable to change because ive never made a decision in my life and I won't start now
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-15
Updated: 2020-12-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:01:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26474578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emilyisnotmyname/pseuds/emilyisnotmyname
Summary: 'The burden of the Berlitz name would surely kill him.'-The recently orphaned X is adopted into the Berlitz Family, who have been ruling the land for generations. He's a solemn prince in nothing but name, but he has nothing to lose anymore, right?A story about a princess, a prince, the royal gardener, two knights-in-training, a blacksmith, a handyman, a sorceress, and the lives they live together.
Relationships: Platinum Berlitz & Moon, Platinum Berlitz & Moon & X, Sun & Lack-Two | Blake, X & Sun & Soudo Tsurugi & Lack-two | Blake, Y | Yvonne Gabena & Moon & Schildemilia Tate & Whi-two | Whitley, there are too many friendships to tag really, y | Yvonne Gabena & Lack-two | Blake
Comments: 8
Kudos: 21





	1. Perfection

**Author's Note:**

> Basically I looked at the juniors and thought 'ok but what if they were in a fantasy au' and then i looked at X and thought 'ok but what if he was one of the Berlitz's' and here we are. I've been working on planning and writing this for a while now, the junior brainrot has struck again.
> 
> I hope that you enjoy this fic! I'm determined to actually finish it, I have a bunch of very interesting content planned that I just can't wait to write.

Perfection is something that has intrigued Moon since she was young enough to comprehend it. It has been etched meticulously into anything she could carve it into, from the sharp zing of an arrow in the dead-center of a target, to her carefully cultivated knowledge on the many workings of the world. She presumed it was something that was lit in her childhood, not with maliciousness or with any ill intent, but so unmistakably that it would be impossible to deny by outsiders.

Such was the burden of the Berlitz name. 

From everything she had seen of her ancestors, and of her older sister, and of her parents, the expectation was to be extraordinary. Which, really, was fine by her. They held the crown, the fate of the world, in the palms of their hands. It is only natural that those hands should be flawless. 

And to the public, they were. Princess Moon Berlitz, who had excelled so far in her studies of medicines and poisons that she could have pursued a career in it years ago, such a fair archer that could thread an arrow through a needle, colored in purples and bright blues like a deadly poison. Princess Platina Berlitz, an indomitable combatant with a keen wit, with eyes sharper than a hawk and speed surpassing the fiery steed she rode on, she was truly a model of the crest she bore. And their parents, and their parents, and so on and so forth, all had been just as exceptional in their own ways. 

They bore perfect, exceptional lives proudly to the public, to be models of royalty for the dregs of society to look up to. But none of the Berlitz’s, least of all Moon, thought themselves as truly perfect. Cracks were mended and hidden from the constant eyes on them, but they still existed plainly to those who knew them well enough. 

Moon could understand that well enough, it didn’t require much brainpower to do so. But as she stared across the hallway at a young boy with jet-black hair, she had nothing but questions in her mind. His face was pale, and the shuffling of his feet and the hunch of his back made him look dead, a corpse in motion. Adorned in simple commoners clothes, the marks around his dull blue eyes made it obvious that he had been crying, he was the very picture of defeat. X was his name, and she knew of him well. A powerful mage with a keen mind for battle despite his youth, the Berlitz’s had invited his family for many, many dinner parties. The black haired boy had been brought along a few times, but Moon wouldn’t say that she was close with him. Then again, she hadn’t really thought much of him before this point.

The tragedy that had befallen his parents was, well, tragic. They had died overseas two months ago, X likely hadn’t even gotten to say goodbye to them. Even considering that, and how close her family was with his parents, Moon still could not understand their decision. Adopting someone into the Berlitz name was unheard of already, and picking someone who had been so obviously shattered and broken…

The burden of the Berlitz name would surely kill him. 

The king, her father, had been speaking to the boy for a little while, which Moon had been partially tuning out in favor of her thoughts, and she started listening to the conversation again. 

“..you will be a part of the royal family, and as such, we are assigning a personal guard to you. Lacktwo?” As he spoke, a brown haired boy in light armor moved to stand beside X, who was pulling his cloak closer to him, as if to dispel a chill. Lacktwo was a meticulous guard, overbearing with the innate ability to follow you like a shadow. If nothing else, his attention being focused on X would get him off of Moon’s back all the time. “He will guard you, and help you to adjust to your new life as a part of our family.” 

“You are free to go wherever you’d like in the castle.” Her mom spoke sweetly, with a soft smile. “Lacktwo can give you a tour, but you may do whatever you’d like. Consider it your home. If you need anything, do not hesitate to ask any of us. We will be having dinner, and we would love to have you there as well.” The queen’s tone made it clear that her request was more of a requirement. 

Attention was focused almost solely on X, who had remained mostly silent throughout the exchange. It was quite a bit of information to take in, and he seemed to be selecting his words carefully. “Thank you, ma’am. I’ll be there.”

Moon’s brows furrowed slightly at how shaky his words were, at his uncertain tone. Not in anger, but in concern. 

“Then you all are dismissed.” Moon was about to walk back to her room, she had been speaking with Y and Schilly, and would prefer to inform them about this matter, but a gentle hand on her shoulder stopped her in her tracks.

Her long braids swung as she turned her head to look at her older sister. “We should go talk to him, no? He is our brother now, afterall.” Platina walked to follow X, not questioning that Moon would follow her. 

And after briefly contemplating it, she did. It would be better to get awkward introductions over with now, instead of at dinner. Meeting him alone seemed somewhat intimidating, but with Platina it would be easier.

X had seemingly chosen a path at random, and Lacktwo was following him diligently. Even with their head start, the prince didn’t know where he was going, and his steps were uncertain in the red carpeted hallways as he dodged around various servants that were milling about. 

Platina caught up with him first, with her much longer legs, and tapped him on the shoulder as they walked out into the castle’s beautiful garden. He turned toward them with a clear look of surprise on his face, it was clear that he hadn’t been expecting anything else from him until dinner. 

“X, could we have a moment with you?” Platina spoke in a way that would’ve seemed bored, if not for that sparkle of curiosity in her eyes Moon knew so well.

Confused eyes narrowed slightly, as he slowed his pace. “Uhm, who-” 

“Lady Platina, and Miss Moon, a pleasure as always.” Not so subtly saving X from sputtering like a fish out of water, Lacktwo cut in somewhat aggressively. It’s not like they had introduced themselves, but the fact that he hadn’t immediately recognized the princesses, his new sisters, was somewhat concerning. Another crack.

Moon sighed, whether it was at X’s lapse in memory, or Lacktwo’s cover, and spoke. “Right. But we’d like to speak with X. It shouldn’t take very long.” After taking a moment to adjust her braids, she walked over to a nearby bench, which was surrounded by beautiful flowers, and a hedge that was groomed to look like a pidove. When she heard three sets of footsteps following her over, she sat down and clarified further. “Alone, Lack.” 

His footsteps stopped, and he gave them a wry smile before taking a few steps back and folding his hands in front of him. “Of course, my apologies.” As much as him turning away gave the false impression that he wasn’t listening, Moon was certain that he would be trying to eavesdrop on them.

Platina walked over and sat down with a dignified grace that was right at home with the beautiful flowers that lined her path. It was just as much a part of her as her voice, or her impossibly silky hair. Like gravity, that grace just being near X made him compelled to stand up a bit straighter, and stop fidgeting with his clothes, but he still looked out of place as he sat next to Moon.

Silence stretched for just a moment too long, none of them were much for talking. X even seemed nervous to do so, but he was the first to break the quiet. “What did you want to talk to me about?”

Certainly, that was a good question. Moon had no idea what they wanted from this other than ‘getting to know him,’ and that seemed a bit of a lame thing to say. A look from Platina told her to come up with something, so she did her best to improvise. “Well, nothing specific really, we just wanted to talk to you. But now that I think about it..” She trailed off, giving X another once over. 

Some things about him would take a bit of time to properly fix, that was obvious. But his black cloak, worn out travelling boots, and obnoxiously plain looking tunic and pants would be easier to address. “How would you feel about changing up your clothes a bit? You’ll need to do so before dinner, and I’m sure Platina could help.” 

As if on cue, her sibling stood up quickly from her chair with a large smile. “Moon! That's a splendid idea! I’m sure we can find something that suits you.” Normally, Platina would’ve frowned, and cleared her throat, before talking in a much less animated fashion, but after obtaining the crest, she was much more liable to unabashedly forget herself when she was allowed. “Feel free to decline, of course, but it would make a rather nice impression on Mother and Father, don’t you think?” 

X looked as if they had signed his death warrant as Platina grabbed his arm and helped him up, Moon found herself suppressing a titter behind her hand. Moon thought he was going to decline for a moment, but there was hardly any stopping Platina when she was fixated on an idea like this. Not to mention that X probably wasn’t bold enough to decline both of the princesses when he had hardly been a prince for twenty minutes. “You both really don’t need to trouble yourselves-” 

“Nonsense, it won’t be any trouble at all. We want to get to know you.” Moon cut in with a wave of her gloved hand. “And don’t worry, we won’t keep you for very long. If you want to leave at any point, just say the word, though I will say that our company is significantly better than Lacktwo’s.”

X snorted a bit at her quip, but he looked uncertain. “Alright then, I suppose..” 

If the rumors were to be believed, X had spent most of his days in his room even before his parents had passed on, after some sort of incident after one of his battles. It was very likely that the only thing that was getting him to go along with this was him wanting to make a good impression. It was the main reasons that Moon was going along with it as well. 

As the now ‘siblings’ (and Lacktwo) walked in less than amiable silence, save for Platina occasionally muttering about clothing, Moon spotted a familiar face among the garden. “I’ll meet you all there, don’t wait for me.” 

“Alright, you’d better be quick.” Platina half-scolded her, before engaging X in an actual conversation.

Moon walked quietly over the grass, lifting the skirt of her dress a bit to ensure no mud got on the hem, towards one of the gardeners, who was watering a plot of daffodils as she hummed to herself. 

“Whitley.” Her voice was soft and gentle, but it still managed to startle the other girl into dropping the watering can, which only barely missed her foongus. 

“Eeep! Who- oh, Moon, it's just you.” Whitley spoke in a relieved tone as she apologetically patted Foongy on the head, in exchange for almost dropping the watering can on him.

But her reaction seemed a bit off to her, the squeal wasn’t out of place, but she seemed like she had almost been expecting someone else to appear behind her. “Did you think it would be someone else?”

“Yes, I mean- No? You just startled me a little bit, that's all.” She stood up from the flowers with a shy smile on her face. That is, until she remembered something. “Wait, you met the new prince today, right? What's he like? I’ve heard rumors.” Whitley seemed nervous, likely about those rumors, a shut-in wouldn’t be a good fit for the Berlitz family, no matter how strong his magic was.

Moon smiled gently at her friend’s eager questions, but she didn’t have any conclusive answers quite yet. Or at least, none that were easy to explain. “I’ll tell you all about it, but I would appreciate it if you could go tell Y that I’ll be back later than I expected. I’m going to be spending more time with X than I expected. She’s in my room, and she’s been waiting for me to get back from meeting him.” 

Whitley nodded, and with her impossibly sweet voice chimed out, “Of course! I’ll finish watering these flowers and tell Y. I’m sure Schilly will be curious about the prince too, so I’ll ask her to join us! I hope you have fun with the prince, but try not to keep us for too long, alright?”

“Thank you. I’ll be there before you know it.” As she walked off, the smile stayed on her face. Whitley was a flighty girl, but she had a quiet and kind strength about her. While she certainly wasn’t made for combat, the brown haired girl was reliable and quick to stand up for others, a shield that never wavered. Moon appreciated her more than she could convey.

But she had to leave the beautiful and quiet of the garden to meet up with X and her sister. No matter how much she thought about it, or whatever amount of fancy clothes they put him in, she couldn’t see X being able to hold up the Berlitz name. Even that would be fine though, so long as he wouldn’t collapse it into the ground.


	2. Imposter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick announcement before we get into this chapter!! I will release a new chapter every monday, so the next one will drop on the 21st! The schedule might change depending on how busy I get with school, but for now thats when I'll update. 
> 
> X POV this chapter! I don't know why, but I really like writing for him, hes just a funky little dude.
> 
> Without further ado, enjoy!

When a storm brews overhead, it is only natural to hide in your home, it would be mad to go outside to brave the cold and bullet-like rain by yourself. When you hear an impossibly loud noise, it is only natural to cover up your ears, curl up in a ball, and pray for it to be over. And when you stand in front of a pair of graves in all black, the new forever homes of the only people that you ever truly loved, it is only natural to scream curses at the skies, or sob into your sleeves until you run short of breath, or even to feel so empty and hollow that you'd rather waste away into nothing than face the sun with the gall to smile down at their funeral.

The news of his parents passing had shaken X so terribly hard, that at first he didn’t even react. He just stayed so still, so silent, as if he was hoping the grim reaper’s message wouldn’t notice him. But when he closed the door to his home, he remembered falling onto his knees and clutching his heart as if someone had stabbed him, and letting out a wail of white-hot agony. He hadn’t known something could hurt so terribly, his grief was branded into his heart the moment he realized that he would never get to feel his mom smile and hug him again, or his dad look up from his work and say, “I’m so proud of you, son.” All he would ever see of them again is in his memories.

Life had been a blur after that. He was more machine than human, the absence of his parents carving a hole in his heart as steadily as a knife. He slept, he woke up, he ate whatever his neighbors had thoughtfully brought for him as a condolence, and he slept more. Occasionally, X would wander the house like a despondent ghost, as if to double-check that his parents weren’t just sleeping in, looking hollowly on at their empty beds and empty house. But mostly he just slept.

Friends and neighbors occasionally checked on him, but they went largely unanswered, the only way X truly knew that they had come was by the food they left on his doorstep. It wasn’t out of a lack of gratitude, but he just couldn’t bring himself to hear their pity, or any other useless things they had to say. He wanted to live in his room forever, safe from the press, safe from prying eyes, and safe from the world. 

X didn’t think he really wanted that, but in the end, he was tired, and this empty life was so much easier than trying to move forward without what he had lost. 

He might’ve remained in that house for the rest of his life, curled up in his room until he faded away, if not for a sharp knock that had rang through his house one fateful day. As he stretched to attempt to stand, his bones creaked with the sheer effort of it, and he almost sat back down on the floor, exhausted with the motion of it. But the knocking on his door was persistent, and there was shouting he couldn’t make out accompanying it as well. It wouldn’t hurt to at least see who it was, even if he was just going to disregard it. 

The voice outside the door was muddy, like he was hearing it underwater, but he caught the sight of a pristine, expensive looking carriage, one that certainly didn’t belong in Vaniville. So this was important, X couldn’t imagine what they’d want with him, but he couldn’t ignore it like he had planned. 

X slowly pushed the door open, and was even further surprised with the sight of an armored knight and an eccentric, official blonde man at his doorstep. “Hello..?” the moment he had mumbled that, the taller blonde seemed to spring into action. 

“Greetings Lord X! You have been summoned by the royal family on a very special request. They have sent letters, but got no response, so we have come to collect you ourselves.” He had never been referred to as ‘Lord’ before, that was a title that should’ve belonged to someone important, his father, not some kid who just rolled out of bed. It wasn’t his title, but it was, and that fact made him want to cry all over again. 

“Oh.” That was all he could really say, not even having the energy to look him in the eye. The difference in height and mannerisms between the two was painfully obvious. Being summoned to the castle was concerning, and he really was at a loss for words as he tried to fathom it, his brows scrunching together and he chewed on his lip, lost in thought.

Attempting to urge him into action, the man continued, clearly put off by his dry response, but still cheerily smiling as he spoke. “It would be best if you pack up any essentials you might need, if you haven’t already. You might not be coming back here for a while.”

“Oh uh- sure.” X closed the door on that bright grin, and looked at the house he had known his whole life. He wouldn’t be coming back anytime soon? Perhaps they were going to execute him, or something, but that didn’t really make sense. Or maybe this was some sort of trick, and he was being kidnapped. Either way, he didn’t want to deal with it right then, he was still in this almost catatonic state, it wasn't something the royal family should have to bare witness to. 

But life didn’t seem to want to wait for him to be ready, so he'd have to deal with it. As he looked around the house he had felt like a stranger in for the past two months, where dust was settling with a certain odor of emptiness, he found himself not wanting to take much of anything. X had already burdened and tainted the place with his lonely presence, it would be somewhat cruel to take much.

X shook his head. It's a damn house, it won’t care either way. Even so, he didn’t take anything from the living room. Changing clothes would be good, he had been wearing the set he had on for too long. He was a lord now, he thought with a grimace, it shouldn’t be hard to find something that would fit for meeting the King. Running his fingers over the clean clothes in his closet, his nimble fingers selected something overly plain and comfortable, as the ride there was quite a long one, and he couldn’t be bothered to convince himself to select something nicer. 

His pokemon were still being taken care of by one of his old friends, they could stay there for now. So that was all he should need. Nothing but the clothes on the back and his rotting heart, that would do just fine. X walked to the front of the house, bidding small goodbyes to everything and nothing, up until he reached the coat rack, and gazed upon his father's old cloak. It was a lovely velvet, pristine and black like the abyss of the sky, and detailed with golden clasps that connected it in the front. 

Before he could even think about it, he plucked it off of the hanger, and settled it with a flourish around his shoulders. The fabric was massive on him, hanging off of his thin frame very obviously, but it brought something akin to satisfaction and pride to his heart. It felt like a reassuring pat on the back. X knew he wasn’t worthy of it, and that he should leave it alone, but allegedly it had been in his family for ages. He could still remember excitedly hanging off of his father's arm as he had told him the story of how all of the masters of the house would wear it, and dreaming about how one day he would get the chance to wear it.

It hardly felt like a privilege to wear it now, but it was something of a comfort, and he walked outside. If he truly was going to be executed, he wanted to have a piece of his family with him. 

Despite the fact that he surely looked like a little kid playing pretend, which was exactly what he was, the man didn’t comment on it. “Right then, if you’re ready, we should be off.” His knight nodded, and walked to the carriage to help them both inside. As the rapidash took off, the man seemed to consider something, and turned towards X with his hand outstretched. “How rude of me, I really should’ve introduced myself. My name is Colress, I’m one of the royal advisors and scientists, but I mostly end up running errands for the royal family.” 

“Oh. I’m X.” He returned the handshake, thinking of Colress as quite the oddity, but he seemed rather harmless, . 

But something about what he had said was funny, as it made Colress burst into a laugh. “Of course you are! If you weren’t then I would’ve made quite the mistake, you know.” 

“Right.” X didn’t think it was nearly as funny as he did. The conversation might as well have been shot for how quickly it died, until X asked the main question on his mind with a sigh, as if the act of asking was tiresome. “Could you tell me why exactly the royal family wants to speak to me anyways?”

Colress perked up considerably when X prompted the conversation. “Certainly! It's not for anything bad, perish the thought. To put it bluntly: they want to adopt you into the Berlitz family.” 

“Don’t mess with me.” He replied reflexively. Noblemen had a certain air of elegance and higher-class about them, but the Berlitz’s were on an entire other level. Success, beauty, perfection, why the hell would they want a thing to do with someone like X? Sure, his parents had always been rather close with them, but even so, he didn’t have anything about him that the Berlitz’s would think of wanting. 

“Oh, I assure you, it's not any sort of joke!” X simply couldn’t fathom what it could be if it wasn’t, but he listened to the advisor attempt to explain further. “I’m not sure exactly why they’ve made a decision like this, they didn’t incline themselves to tell me that, but I would assume it has something to do with your parents. They were all so close, it must be heartbreaking for the Berlitz’s to lose them. That makes the most sense, though I will say that your battling skills are nothing to sneeze at. Yes, I would guess that they’ve brought you in out of.. Pity? Or perhaps they’re salvaging their last memory of their friends.” The blonde's face darkened a bit, probably a bit miffed that he wasn't in the know about everything, but X hardly noticed.

Silently, his knuckles clenched white into the fabric of his fathers cloak. “Pity?” He practically spat, he didn’t want anything of that sort. He would’ve much preferred to waste away in his home instead of something like this. 

Colress must’ve picked up on how annoyed that comment had made him, and turned with hardened eyes at the boy. “That’s only my guess. If you truly want to know, than you should ask them. But it really doesn’t matter why, in the end.” His face turned back into a grin, and he laid a gentle hand on X’s cloak, sending a shiver down his spine. “Being a part of the Royal family is no small privilege. You should count your blessings, there's no reason to refuse. It's my understanding that you have nothing even slightly comparable to go back to, no?” Despite his words, X got the feeling that Colress wanted nothing more than for him to refuse the offer, and he shrugged his hand off of him. 

The black haired boy thought for a moment, and pulled the cloak around him more. “I still have to think about that.” 

“Certainly! Take your time, but it would be best to have your mind made up before you enter the castle.” A thin smile was stretched across his face as he adjusted his blue, official looking robes, but he didn’t speak to X again for the rest of the journey to the castle. 

The carriage got quite a bit of attention on their way, it was obvious that they were going to the castle, and many people waved or cheered as they passed the many sleepy, boring villages around Vaniville. An odd pit sat in his chest as they went past the streets he had lived in for all his life, streets that he had never felt much fondness for until they were behind him. But that was just like him.

Dirt roads slowly shifted into cobblestone streets, which rattled the vehicle as they continued down them. If not for the soft cushioned seats, it surely would’ve made him sore after the long voyage, but such was his new luxury. Houses shifted from nice to nicer, and then to the wealthiest that surrounded the castle, surrounded by wonderful flowers and foliage. In the picturesque landscape, the beautiful homes looked more and more average, and next to the Berlitz castle, they were a joke. 

Spiraling towers and looming walls, all in a pristine white marble and capped with dark blue roofs and banners, proudly displaying the Berlitz star-like crest. Dark wooden doors and window-sills contrasted perfectly with the wonderful garden surrounding it. Not even the flowering ivy seemed to have the courage to attempt to scale the walls, knowing it was unworthy to sully such a perfect structure. The very sight had always inspired nothing but awe in X, and now was no different, it was even more imposing and beautiful than he had remembered, and it shocked him out of his indifferent daze. If Colress was correct, this castle could be his someday, and yet… 

It felt like the building itself was scrutinizing his every move, a predator glaring down with unimpressed eyes, waiting for him to inevitably walk into the trap it had effortlessly set for him. His boots were clean, but as he was helped out of the carriage and into the mouth of the main hall, he felt like he was dirtying the carpet, which was probably more valuable than anything he had done in his life, with his presence. Vaguely, he feared that he would infect this place with the same lifelessness and emptiness that he had done with his own home, but he had more present fears to be concerned about. 

X felt like he was walking in the steps of someone on death's row, the last of his family’s legacy to be cut like a ribbon, only by the guillotine instead of harmless scissors. Executions had probably happened in the castle, right? Even someone like him could tell that these halls had seen an impossible amount of things, and the deaths of much more important people than him had to have been a part of that history. As he looked up at the royal family, and god, all four of them were up there, the King and Queen in their ornate golden thrones, and the two princesses standing next to them, and all four of their sets of piercing eyes were staring him down. 

Hell, if they didn’t kill him, his pounding heart sure would. He was nothing but a child playing make-believe in his father's clothes, and they were overpowering strength incarnate. Shakily, he managed to bow to them before he could think about it, but he couldn’t meet those eyes again. Really, he didn’t think they were going to kill him, but everything about this was just far too overwhelming, he was practically living the impossible, him bearing the Berlitz name was just as likely as him being killed, and about a million times scarier.

If he could hardly bear four sets of eyes on him, he wouldn’t be able to handle the eyes of a nation. 

But the conversation with them passed quickly, but X didn’t remember most of it. He didn’t have the strength to refuse though, not with his father's cloak on his shoulders, but he had practically signed himself away. At least, whatever little was still left of himself. 

After he was dismissed, he had run off in a random direction, not heading Lacktwo’s suggestion to slow down. He wanted to be alone somewhere, and outside seemed to be a good choice. From what he remembered of going to the castle when he was young, the garden was soothing and quiet, there were plenty of places for him to hide. Though, hiding would be difficult with Lacktwo following, X thought he could manage so long as it was quiet. 

A hand on his shoulder had stopped him in his tracks, as he turned to look at the princesses (his sisters? No, that was too foreign a term to consider now.) Embarrassingly, X hadn’t even recognized them at first, so caught up in his own thoughts, and his wanting to leave the palace, but Lacktwo was useful enough to save him from that particular pitfall. 

Moon and Platina Berlitz. Yeah, he could see why they were talked about so often. Even just by speaking with them for a moment, he could tell that they deserved the praise that they had gotten. They moved with experience despite their youth, and carried with them the power of their name seemingly effortlessly. When he had met them years ago, they were just as immaculate as they were now, so it really shouldn’t have been so surprising to see.

And yet, they had sought him out, likely out of curiosity, or perhaps even pity, but it made his stomach twist with his nerves all the same. He couldn’t look at their eyes to be certain of anything about them, it was impossible. 

But as the three of them sat down on that bench, and X locked his eyes with a particular flower on the ground, he found himself almost relaxing in spite of himself. The formal air dissolved slowly, but surely. Perhaps it was how earnest Moon was being with him, or how Platina got so excited over the quite alarming prospect of dressing him up, but he found himself breathing a bit easier. Maybe they were trying to accommodate him in some way? X really didn’t know, but he was grateful that they were giving his poor heart a break. 

Platina and Moon both offered him ways out of this impromptu meetup, but he didn’t turn them down. Not because he necessarily wanted to go with them, instead it was because his nerves were still too frayed and he was too afraid to turn them down. They both seemed like they would take him turning them down harshly, they were princesses, afterall. 

So he found himself re-entering the castle with Lacktwo and Platina, Moon having run off to take care of something else. X was an imposter here, and he could feel the eyes of all of the servants milling through the hallways on him. He tightened his cloak around him more, and noticed Lacktwo move to walk between him and the workers, oozing charm as he waved and spoke to various people he recognized. 

Platina fell into step with X as well, her smile replaced with a more neutral expression, and she asked him, “What kind of clothes would you like to wear? I figured we might as well start a discussion on it now.”

“Oh,” X thought on it for a moment. “I’d like blue, if that's possible. I want to keep this on too.” He pointed to his cloak, and she nodded thoughtfully. 

“That can be arranged.” The group stopped in front of a rather simple looking door, which Platina pushed open gently, revealing what must’ve been her bedroom. It was perfectly clean, hosting a large canopy bed and a large window, the lace curtains spread open to let in a wonderfully warm glow into the room. An ornate desk was next to the window, along with a few chairs, but Platina didn’t stop walking, moving into a walk-in closet, which was stocked wall to wall with various dresses and outfits. “Annd here we are! I’m sure we can find something for you in here.” 

Before X could say something, Lacktwo cut in, which seemed to be a quickly growing habit of his. “Lady Platina, Lord X, I have other business that I should be attending to. If it wouldn’t be too much trouble..”

“You are dismissed, Lacktwo.” The brown haired boy smiled, and bowed, before swiftly exiting the room. Leaving X alone with the princess, who was pursing her lips as she surveyed her collection. “And X, would you like some tea? There’s still some in here from this morning, if you’d like. I know that you traveled quite a way to get here.” 

X would have protested, but the moment it was brought up, his thirst and hunger intensified tenfold. “That would be nice, if its not a bother.”

She clapped her hands with a smile, and walked back out with a smile on her face, before expertly pouring three cups into delicate looking teacups. “Then we can enjoy some tea while we wait for Moon to come back. I know she told us not to wait, but you should really relax a bit.”

He took a tentative sip. It was room-temperature at this point, but the notes of the herbal flavor rang true in his mouth. X recognized it from somewhere, it made him feel nostalgic, and his chest feel warmer. “Wow, it's great.” He remarked before he could stop himself. 

“I’m glad.” Again, silence stretched between the two, but it was more enjoyable, with delicious tea and the ice somewhat broken between them. X was perfectly fine with that silence, but then Platina asked a question that caught him quite off guard. “So, you said that you didn’t mind what you wore.. How would you feel about a dress?” 

He almost spit his tea out, but managed not to. As he looked up quickly at her eyes, he noticed a slight smirk on her face. Awkwardly, he sputtered out, “I- I suppose I’ve never tried one before? But I don’t want to eat with the King and Queen for the first time in a dress.” X wouldn’t be totally opposed to at least trying one on, he had always been a bit curious about them, but he didn’t know the royal family well enough to wear one in front of them.

Platina was tittering at him slightly from behind her hand as his face heated up. “I didn’t really think you’d be the type, I just wanted to confirm.” She continued more seriously, as if she hadn’t been poking fun at him. “I do think that you could wear some heeled boots. I have some nice ones, and it’ll make you look a bit less.. Well, small.” How she could go so quickly from messing with him back to being serious, and then back to messing with him, X didn’t understand, and the conversation was giving him whiplash.

Although a bit miffed at the comment about him being small, he said, “I think that would be a good idea. Though I’m hardly that small anyways.” His annoyed words were partially muffled by his teacup, but he didn’t miss the mirth in Platina’s sharp grey eyes. 

Thankfully, before she could get another quip in, Moon entered the room. “Oh, hello! We were just having tea.” 

Moon sat down with them as well. “I was just speaking with Whitley.” Platina nodded in understanding, and as if to clarify for X, the younger sister continued. “I think you’d like her, X. She works in the garden.”

“I’d have to meet her first.” He stated bluntly, before something clicked in his mind. From the moment Platina had sat them down to have tea, X had felt calmer. Perhaps that was another one of the Berlitz’s qualities, but he certainly hadn’t heard about that. Come to think of it, she had been the one to ask about getting tea, and even if she was teasing him, she was mostly carrying the conversation. He was still annoyed, and really wanted to go back to his room and sleep, but they didn’t seem like terrible company.

X mostly stayed quiet after that, with Moon and Platina happily chatting about hypothetical outfits to put him in. He just didn’t really want to speak anymore, he had talked more just today than he had in months, and the princesses seemed fine with his silence. Honestly, he just felt tired, and he was waiting to get to his new bedroom. Sleep sounded absolutely perfect right about then, or at least, better than the nervous feeling that hadn’t quit since they had spoken to him.

“...sound good X?” Moon eventually said to him, and he was jolted back into the conversation. 

Instinctually he almost nodded, but stopped himself. X didn’t think they would put him in anything ridiculous, but he didn’t want to agree without even knowing what it was. “Sorry, what was that?” 

Platina’s eyes sparkled, and she had a small smile playing on her lips. “I suppose it would be easier to just show you and then you can decide.” Without actually explaining, she stood up and walked into the closet, presumably grabbing the clothes they had decided upon. 

“X.” He looked bewilderedly up at the remaining Berlitz. “What were you thinking about?” Moon took a refined sip of her tea, as she elaborated. “You had this look in your eyes, like you were somewhere else.”

“Oh. I wasn’t really thinking about anything, I just-” X shrugged his shoulders, the words were on the tip of his tongue, but just out of reach, and he didn’t have the effort in him to get to them. And it was somewhat of a prying question, he wouldn’t have answered with the truth even if he had been thinking about something.

“Zoned out?” Moon helpfully finished for him, and he nodded. Her face didn’t betray much emotion, except for a glint of curiosity in her eyes. “That's alright. Apologies if we bored you, I should’ve figured you wouldn’t be super interested in this.” 

“No, you didn’t bore me!” X quickly protested, as she raised her eyebrow. “I’m just.. very tired.” And that was the truth, weariness hung off his bones like heavy, wet clothes. A second skin that constantly weighed down his shoulders, it seemed like no matter how often he slept, it didn’t go away.

The princess nodded slowly, and though she wasn’t looking at him, he thought she saw her face soften a bit. “That’s understandable.” Silence stretched between the two of them, without Platina to fill the void of conversation, the quiet grated. 

Platina returned before he could say anything else, and he turned to see the outfit. It was a crisp looking white shirt that looked like it suited a proper prince, and the lapels and hem were outlined in golden embroidery. A cobalt ribbon was tied around the middle, and a ‘B’ in that same color was stitched over where his heart would be. The pants were a simple brown, but the heeled boots were also in that vibrant shade of blue. “How does this all look? And you’ll keep your cloak with it, of course.” 

“That-” He had to stop and the stupid, wide-eyed look that was forming on his face. His family had been well off, sure, but that outfit looked like it would cost a sickening amount of money, and he would get to wear it. X didn’t deserve it, but he sure as hell wanted to at least try it on. “That looks great.”

Platina beamed for the both of them, and then handed the clothes to him. “It would be best to change before dinner, I think. You can keep all of that too! They ‘technically’ belong to Pearl, but he won’t mind. I’m not sure how well it will fit, he’s a bit taller than you, but it should work until you can get to a tailor.” 

“Right. thank you both.” He spoke awkwardly, but he accepted the clothes like they were priceless items, which, they completely were, and turned towards the door, prepared to go to his room and crash, before realizing that he had no idea where his room was.

But like magic, Platina seemed to wordlessly understand his plight. “Moon, you should show him where his room is. I’m meeting with Dia and Pearl soon, and I’d rather not be too late.” The youngest rolled her eyes and smirked, making X uneasy.

With a pseudo, teasing grin, she led the way out of the room with a wave over her shoulder. “Right! Have fun with your boyfriends! We’ll see you at dinner.” Moon practically pushed him out of the room, and closed the door quickly. Platina’s squawk of protest was swallowed up by the thick wood, and Moon tittered into her hand. X had figured that Pearl and Dia were just her friends, but if it was like that.. “They aren’t really her boyfriends, so you know. But it's a terribly easy way to rile her up, I couldn’t resist.”

“Oh, that makes sense.” 

“I think they might be, one day. Which only makes it all the more funny.” Moon had a smirk on her face, probably without realizing. She continued talking as they walked, when X didn’t supply another comment, preferring to listen and try to understand how the castle was laid out. “They’re pretty cool though, Dia and Pearl..” The two of them arrived at a door, which Moon opened for him. “Well, this is the place. It was nice meeting you, X.” 

“Likewise. Uhm- see you at dinner.” Moon left without another word, and X walked inside. The room was similar to Platina’s, except significantly less lived in. He set the clothes down gingerly on the desk, before taking off his shoes and climbing in bed. Lacktwo would probably come and find him before dinner, but regardless, he didn’t want to think about it. X didn’t want to think at all, and closed his eyes among the silken covers of his new bed, and prayed to find the abyss of sleep quickly. 

Various thoughts played in his head, he needed to get his pokemon at some point if he truly was staying here, he missed them more than he had realized, and his new sisters were certainly interesting, but he couldn’t ever see himself being so familiar with any of them, no matter if he wanted to or not. They’d give up on him, maybe even send him home after a few days. X just felt alone, which was ridiculous, he had just spoken with people, but he really was alone in this new place. He had come into this role late, and he wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to catch up, or become something worth the titles he had. He just didn’t have faith that he would be able to do it, but he was going to try, even just a little. 

Thinking about these little things was a lot easier than thinking about his parents, and eventually, he found himself drifting off, uncertainty and loneliness lurked just beyond his eyelids, but for now, they could be ignored in favor of a dreamless slumber.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter ! Leave a comment or smthn if you did, they really really REAALLY make my day.
> 
> The only juniors that have really shown up so far are X and Moon, but the next few chapters will definitely be changing that ;)
> 
> Look out for Lacktwo's POV monday! And I hope you have a wonderful day, thanks for reading :D
> 
> (Also feel free to shoot me a message on discord: Egggy#9891 I just want friends to talk about the juniors with pls)


	3. Identity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAH IM SORRY THIS WAS SO LATE. I was away from my computer all weekend so I couldn't get any work done on this, and it really messed my schedule up,, the next chapter will be on monday though!
> 
> And Lack POV, hes another one of my favorites, and I hope I've depicted him well! I hope you enjoy this chapter !

The door closed behind him with a slight thump against the doorframe, as the boy picked his way across the hallway, moving almost soundlessly with the skill of a particularly sly housecat. People had remarked on how odd it was countless times, which just dripped with irony. Really, the sly one here was hopping around nearby, in the walls, and in the rafters of the castle, quick and piercing eyes examining their every move. His partner, Dewott, really was something special. 

Lacktwo’s life was filled with secrets like that. Even now, a shining smile was on his face, cheerily waving to blushing maids and making idle chatter with the servants, he felt none of what showed on his face. It wasn’t a natural thing for him to put up a fake picture of himself, but it made him more effective at his job. A necessary evil, if you could even call it that. 

Most of him was a secret, “Lacktwo” wasn’t even his true name, Colress had come up with him when he was knighted. The advisor had thought that it was funny, naming him for the emotions that he lacked, instead of the skillset that he had painstakingly acquired, and Lacktwo had gone along with it, angering the eccentric man wouldn’t be helpful for his climb to the top. Being an enigma was beneficial for the task he had been assigned, as well as being reputable. 

That task was another way for him to climb the ladder, and Colress told him he was perfect for it. Rat out spies from the Alliance, within the knights, and within the servants in the castle. Trouble had been stirring again, the tatters that remained of the terrorist organizations Team Plasma, Flare, as well as the Aether Foundation, and a few other smaller groups, had begun banding together and causing problems. And with his apathetic nature, he wouldn’t have any issues with exposing them as traitors. 

Lacktwo had taken the job with honor, as well as his task to guard Princess Moon. Anyone less capable would’ve been unable to do both, but he managed well. Reports of suspicious behavior were anonymously sent in, and had directly caused many people to be fired and forced to leave the castle. He didn’t feel anything when he did it either, feigning pity for them as he planned how to find the next infiltrator. He tried his best to get those that were guilty, because it would be wrong of him to do anything else, and, if nothing else, he did have his ethics intact. 

But for his job, he had a handful of suspects he wanted to investigate today. Sun, a dark blue haired boy that mostly ran errands and did odd jobs around the castle, for a price. He was the cheery sort, smiley and fairly charming, but also a bit of a strange person. Often, he was found missing from his room at night, and he was oddly close with Princess Moon, Soudo Tsurugi, and Lacktwo himself. The golden-eyed boy frequently stuck to Lacktwo’s side when he found him, and he had acquired a lot of knowledge about him, even without his Dewott’s spying. It was all mostly surface level stuff, but Lacktwo found his presence to be enjoyable, it really would be a shame to have him removed. 

Soudo Tsurugi was another suspect. He was friendly, the blacksmith and self proclaimed “gear meister” of the castle. Dewott liked the brown haired boy quite a lot as well, his scallop was always in good condition thanks to him. The fact that he was close with Sun, and spent a lot of time around him, was a bit suspicious, but Lacktwo had seen his lights on, and the boy working long past when he should be sleeping on multiple occasions, for blades and equipment that were never stocked in the castle. Soudo was someone who was always nice, a bit quiet and sarcastic at times, but he asked Lacktwo if he needed to eat something, or how he and the princesses were doing. It seemed plainly wrong to suspect him for anything, but he should know better than anyone that appearances could be deceiving.

The final suspect that he planned to investigate was a girl named Whitley. She seemed earnest, but she was awfully flighty around the knights, always stuttering and fidgeting her way through the garden. Lacktwo probably wouldn’t have even suspected her, if not for her incredibly strong foongus. It had detected Dewott almost instantly, growing aggressive and attacking just as fast. If Lacktwo hadn’t been any quicker, it would’ve knocked him out with its spore. And, upon investigating, he found that she often received letters from the outside, which she collected with secrecy. Whitely could very easily be putting on an act while she waited for instructions, and with how close the gardener was with the Princess… Well, he was sure that Yvonne wouldn’t let harm come to Moon, but the risk put him on edge nonetheless.

Soudo would probably be the easiest to find, but the blacksmiths shopfront was quite a walk from the castle, so he resigned himself to looking for Sun and Whitley. Sun would be the hardest to locate, so he should focus on that, to knock out the more difficult task first. The boy walked down the hallways, searching for that familiar mop of cobalt hair, until he wandered outside the castle, his lips drawn into a thin line. Wasting time was annoying, maybe he should’ve gone and looked for someone else.

But as he thought that, and was asking one of the other servants if she had seen either of his targets, a sudden weight was flung onto his shoulders, and Lacktwo couldn’t stop himself from rolling his eyes. 

“Lack! I heard a certain somebody was looking for me.” Sun cackled next to his ear and ruffled Lacktwo’s hair, having easy access to the long, fluffy hair. The knight definitely didn’t let out an undignified noise as he attempted to get his harmless assailant literally out of his hair. 

But it was something of a habit at this point for Sun to greet him in this sort of manner. For a boy who spent all of his time doing odd-jobs, he could move very quietly when he wanted to. “Sun! Get off of me.” He barked out aggressively, which the other boy obeyed with a giggle. A sigh escaped him as he realized the state his hair was in, and he quickly undid the tie and put it back up in the standard messy ponytail he liked. 

“Sorry!” His bright grin suggested that he wasn’t, and Lacktwo’s eyes narrowed. “Its too easy to get the jump on you, I just can’t help myself.” Golden eyes sparkled as the boy talked, using his hands to convey what he was saying and elbowing his companion, easily poking fun at Lacktwo. The knight couldn’t imagine ever being that animated in anything, but Sun wore it with such ease that he wouldn’t be him without it. 

Lacktwo rolled his eyes, and shoved him lazily with one hand, which still managed to get Sun off balance, but most of it was him being dramatic. “Yeah yeah, whatever. What have you-”

“No small talk!” Those eyes were trained on Lacktwo like a particularly eager cat, curious and alert all in one. Paired with practically stabbing his finger at the knight, it made for an amusing picture. “What do you need? We’re both veery busy people, and you suck at small talk.”

Indignantly, Lacktwo started, “I do not-!” But Sun interrupted him again.

“Relax, I was joking. But we don’t see each other enough to waste time on the weather, y’know?.” His mood got more serious, but Lacktwo couldn’t really fathom why, or why his tone had shifted into something more thoughtful. Their dynamic had never included that before, and it made Lacktwo purse his lips at the compliment. “But really, what do ya need from little ol’ me? I’m on my way to see Sou, I actually am busy.” Lacktwo knew that Sun really worked too hard for his own good, but in that same breath, he had a lazy and joking outward demeanor and liked to pretend he didn’t. It was odd to him, but then again, perfectly typical of Sun. 

“Right, I need to talk to you.” He repeated. The accusations were always a delicate process. A mix of pretending a not so innocent question was just for curiosity's sake, and pressing for information. And he would have to be quick, the walk to and from Soudo’s shop would be too long to leave X alone. Sun stayed mostly quiet for once, other than softly humming and kicking his feet, waiting for Lacktwo to continue. “You have a room at the castle, am I correct?” 

“Mhmm, what about it?” Either he was trying to play dumb about what Lacktwo was asking to avoid making obvious signs, or just really was dumb, with Sun it was hard to tell. But regardless, those curious eyes were still on his face. 

“Call it curiosity.” Not exactly a lie, Lacktwo was a fan of deception and misdirection, but didn’t like an outright lie. It tended to cause a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach, which he would rather go without. “You sleep in your room right?”

Sun laughed, a merry sound. “Where else would I sleep? You’re really weirding me out though.”

“Bare with it for a little while longer.” Lacktwo offered a slight reassuring smile, which only appeared to put Sun more on edge. Not ideal, but he had caught the boy in a lie now. “As I was saying, I’ve got intel that tells me you haven’t been in your room most nights this week. Care to explain?” 

That curiosity was smothered on his face, replaced with a sour expression. “What are you even asking?” 

“The security of the Princesses is my top priority. If you’re doing anything that could jeopardize that-” His voice was even and almost monotone as he regarded a Sun that was growing more visibly annoyed with each word.

“Really?” The boy was very clearly toeing the line of pissed the hell off, glaring and using his obvious height difference to his advantage. “I do odd jobs to help out my mom, dude. And sometimes I work through the nights. I’m not doing anything shady like that, I would never do anything like that to Moon, or to you, why the hell would you even think I would-” 

Lacktwo raised his hand to stop his argument, his mouth feeling dry. “Don’t be offended. It's merely a precaution. I didn’t want to suspect you, but I couldn’t overlook it.” He didn’t sense any sign of lying in Sun’s voice, and trusted his own judgement, but something about this still felt off to him. That was too easy an excuse, he might have to look into this more, yet the feeling in his stomach had only grown by looking at the halfway betrayal on Sun’s face. It would have to be postponed, Sun wasn’t ever all that suspicious anyways. “It’s my job.” He opened his mouth to say more, but thought better of it. 

Sun sighed. “Its fine. I guess I get it, but c’mon.. I wouldn’t ever do something like that.” He trailed off, disappointed eyes set on the road in front of them. It really was odd to see the other boy not moving around with a shining grin, Lacktwo decided that he didn’t like it at all. Further investigation would have to be postponed, if it was even continued at all. 

“I apologize. I’ll get back to my other work now. Goodbye, Sun.” His voice was clipped and he spoke quickly, wanting to get out of that situation as fast as possible, before he pissed off the other boy even more. Lacktwo didn’t wait another second before turning around, and speed-walking back to the castle, leaving Sun to his duties.

He should get back to X. The prince was probably back to his room by now, and it would be best not to leave him alone for long, having him finding his way into trouble so early wouldn’t be good for either of them. Whitley and Soudo would have to wait until tomorrow, he wanted to learn more about the Prince. 

Lacktwo didn’t have any real opinions of X yet. He seemed like a shell, hollow and small, like someone had scooped out everything that had made the boy himself. In that way, he supposed he could almost relate, except Lacktwo had remained empty, and devoid of anything, while X was full of grief and fear, something that would likely carve into the boys identity. 

That thought felt rather hopeless. Identity, that was something that Lacktwo couldn’t truly understand without experiencing it, everything about him was fake, afterall. But he could appreciate it in others, like Sun, and Yvonne, and even Whitley and X. Maybe it was curiosity, or him just wanting to succeed in his job, but he wanted to see X’s true identity, no matter how hypocritical that sentiment was. 

A hand suddenly clapped down on his shoulder, startling him into looking over it. “Ah, Yvonne. Nice to see you.” He smiled slightly, and fell into step with the blonde girl. He had just been thinking of the headstrong girl, and there she was next to him. How convenient.

“Laaack, I told you to just call me Y! Yvonne is too.. formal.” She groaned and hit his arm playfully when he used her full name, but returned his grin. The girl had shorter hair than he did, and was always optimistic and energetic. Yvonne was one of the people he preferred working with, if he had to pick someone. Intelligent and quick witted, she always managed to come up with unorthodox strategies, and could improvise enough to make them go off without a hitch. 

And, she was quite fun to mess around with. Lacktwo kept up his sly, phoney smirk. “Hmm, I quite like it, but if you insist, Madame Y.” She complained even more about that, and he chuckled at her dramatics, before continuing, tolerating the glare she shot at him. “Sorry, sorry. Y, to what do I owe the pleasure?” 

She rolled her eyes, and stretched her arms upwards as they walked, the light armor she wore creaked slightly with the motion. “Thanks.” Y seemed much less eager to share whatever she had come to see him about, but she took a deep breath, and managed to power through it, spitting out a comment. “X. I wanna know how he’s doing.” 

Lacktwo cocked his head. This didn’t sound like mere curiosity, she was fiddling with her gauntlets nervously as they walked. “You know of him?” 

“We were close when we were younger.” Her red eyes narrowed slightly. “Moon said he wasn’t doing well. And yeah, I didn’t expect him to be doing well after something like that, he's not the type to handle that well. I feel a bit guilty, really. Like I should’ve done something to help him.” Lacktwo nodded, though he didn’t really understand. 

“He doesn’t seem like the type to want help though. In my eyes, he’s just grieving.” Losing someone that was as much of a core part of your life as your parents, well, his books had told him that it was crushing. “Why don’t you go and talk to him yourself?” 

Y laughed, though it sounded forced, or maybe.. embarrassed? “I’m not so sure he’d want to see me. We had something of a fight before I ran off to knight school. A big one.” Her voice was more quiet, laced with regret that wasn’t really surprising. 

“You should give it a shot. I’m sure he’s gotten over it at this point.” Despite his words, she didn’t seem convinced, and was pursing her lips like she wanted to say more. Lacktwo wasn’t particularly good with advice like this, and he was about to suggest that she talk to Schildemilia, or someone more socially adept, when she continued. 

“I’m gonna think about it some more. I didn’t come to you for advice, but I appreciate the attempt.” She tittered at his expression. Just because he knew he wasn’t the best at it, doesn’t mean she should point it out. “I just want you to look out for him. I know that's your job, but I don’t want him to be alone with all of this, and if it's up to him, he’ll lock himself in that room for the rest of time. He did that before his parents died too, just sat in that room all day, everyday.” 

Ah, she wanted him to be more than a guard with X. She wanted him to help him out of the pit he had been banished to, to make sure that the raven-haired boy didn’t waste away anymore than he already had. “Oh.”

“It's selfish, I know that! But I need to think about what I’m going to say, and- whatever, you know what I’m saying.” Y seemed exasperated with someone, and Lacktwo took a wager and guessed that it wasn’t him. 

“I do. And I’ll do my best, it really would be boring to watch him lay in his bed all day.”

“And I’ll talk to him sometime soon. It's a promise, yeah?” She held up her pinky, with a weak smile. It was a childish gesture, but he couldn’t turn it down. It was something of a ritual for the two of them when they were training, a promise to keep working as long as they could, as hard as they could, to become knights that were worthy of the title.

“Of course.” He locked pinkies with Y, and they shook hands once, before letting go, when Y let out a sigh of relief. 

“Thank you, I appreciate it.” She was about to leave, when she had a thought. “Oh, and we’re training this weekend, right? I’m gonna bring Moon too, it’ll be fun!” Her enthusiasm should’ve been infectious, and it left a pang in his mind to know that with him he couldn’t catch it.

But he smiled nonetheless, and nodded the affirmative. “Right.” With those words, the two of them went their separate ways. Yvonne was someone he could always count on, she was probably the one person he trusted more than himself. Being roommates for years of training tended to have that effect on people. And if she trusted him with something that was so important to her, then he was going to do his damndest to do it well.

Lacktwo didn’t knock on the door to X’s bedroom, Dewott was perched on his shoulder, and had already confirmed it was fine to enter. He gave the loyal pokemon a pat on the head, as he entered the room. If X needed someone supportive, then Lacktwo would do his best to provide that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you enjoyed, perhaps leave a comment? They make me so happy, I appreciate all of them sm,,
> 
> Next chapter: Schilly's POV on monday! 
> 
> Thank you for reading! <3


	4. Blank

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOW this chapter was so incredibly late,, it was really hard for me to write for some reason but WHATEVER!! Suns chapter is next and I am stoked to write it and get back into this project again. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy Miss Schilldemilia's first chapter <33

A loud shriek echoed throughout the highest towers, followed by a much louder and more confident shout, which emanated through the air like a glorious battlecry. The studies contained in those rooms were meant to be quiet, a place for intent focus and innovation, but the three occupants of the leftmost spire had always tended to be more... unorthodox. 

“We should’ve done this outside!” A girl with a long brown ponytail scolded loudly, which was insight that really should’ve been mentioned before Schilly’s fire magic had gone out of control and eaten up a significant portion of important tomes. Oops.

“YEAAAAH!” Her mentor shouted. Black was much too excited over this whole thing, considering that those were his books, but he seemed more thrilled than anything. “Schilly! That was great!”

She didn’t feel like it had been great. In fact, Schildemilia didn’t feel much at all.

Her magic had always been... a lot. That was the best way to describe it. Passionate, energetic, warm; magic was the closest reflection of your true nature that anyone could find. But it was also all-encompassing, a unbridled storm, and above all else, powerful. Without her anchors to tie it down, like a fire in a dry pile of straw, it would consume her alive. 

And her five ‘anchors’, her pokemon, had been gone for months. 

Use of her magic resulted in what her mentors had previously dubbed ‘blanking’, when your own magic renders you, well, completely blank. It's temporary, thank god, but it was no less scary. Your mind, your expression, everything that stands out is promptly wiped away after using magic. If she were to continue using it, it might not be temporary, but she didn’t have the recklessness to test that theory of Black’s.

Black was the first one to document blanking, he was known as a specialist in that field, but he was more of a crazy wizard than any sort of stuffy scientist like she had been expecting. He’d experienced it all his life, willingly inflicting it upon himself to clear his thoughts with the help of his pokemon, to help him notice little things. 

Blanking did make her feel more aware in a way, but it was always so terribly off-kilter and unsteady that she couldn’t focus on any of the small details she noticed so prevalently during it. It made magic much more intense, and in Black’s experience, more powerful in small bursts, but it wore you out quickly.

“Schilly, are you alright?” White had put her dainty hand in front of Schilly’s blank eyes, which noticed everything about it, but didn’t have the focus to recognize it in her mind.

Soon though, she felt a small paw in her hand, and with a concentrated effort, managed to come back to life. The short haired girl shook her head quickly and gave her two concerned mentors a winning smile. “I’m ay-ok! That blanking only lasted for a little while, maybe this plan of yours is actually gonna work!” 

The plan, of course, was the pokemon’s paw that she was currently holding. It was a little Scorbunny, it had been found by Whitley in the garden one day, and Black managed to get his hands on it and give it to Schilly. Hopefully, she’d be able to form a link with it, but these things do take time, and it was clear that both parties were hesitant about it. The Scorbunny was very unfamiliar to the whole ordeal of performing magic, but Schilly had her own gripes with getting this to work… 

“YEAAAHHH, I KNEW IT WOULD!” As White hurriedly shushed Black, they weren’t meant to make nearly as much noise as he was, Schilly smiled at and patted her pokemons head in thanks. It felt somewhat wrong to call the Scorbunny ‘hers’ when her real missing links were still out there somewhere, but it had been months, the chances of her and Sou actually managing to find them all, or any of them, grew slimmer by the day. 

Black seemed to pick up on her souring mood, he was rather good with little details like that, and ruffled her hair fondly. “Don’t look down about it! That was excellent progress, y’know. And the maids can deal with all the mess and burned stuff, so it's no biggie. I’ve got all that info right up here anyways.” He tapped his temple as she started giggling, and batting his hand away. 

“I think that's enough practice for right now, anyways.” White sighed and patted Schilly on the shoulder. The two of them were a perfect team, just like everyone’s cool overprotective older siblings, in the way they always were running around and taking care of everything. White tended to be a bit more strict, or maybe Black was just so wild all the time, but they treated everyone with familiar affection and warmth, and were respected and beloved by most everyone in the castle. “We wouldn’t want a more serious blank to happen. And besides, Whitely knocked on the door asking for you while you were practicing… something about the new prince?” 

Schilly’s eyes widened a bit, and she cocked her head slightly. Was he really coming in today? It had completely slipped her mind, but she definitely should meet him! Or at the very least, hear about him from Moon. It wasn’t every day that someone was adopted by the king and queen, he must be very talented.

Black barked out a laugh before patting her on the shoulder, nudging her towards the exit. “Haha! You’d better get over there, then! I’ll see you tomorrow, get some rest kid.” 

“Right, sorry about the mess!” Schilly smiled and looked down at her scorbunny, hoping to put it on her shoulder, but it was already walking off. Though she had only just received the pokemon a few days ago, seeing it brush her off still put a frown on her face. 

“You need to tell us all about him next time you have class too!” White called out, a smile obvious in her tone even as Schilly closed the door. 

The walk to Moon’s room wasn’t exactly short, a good few minutes. It was a big castle, afterall, and there were lots of servants and the like milling about. Still, Schilly knew the route to her friends room well, and knocked on the door quickly, buzzing with excitement to hear about the new prince. 

Whitley opened the door with a clear smile on her face as she invited Schilly in. “You're just on time!” The other girl's excitement was clear with her enthusiastic outburst, which she quickly tried to rectify. “Ah, Moon just got here a bit before you, so now we can start.” Whitley was certainly more comfortable around them then when she’d first come to the castle, but she still found Whi slipping into old habits. Which was fine! She was a perfectly wonderful friend either way. 

“Great!” Schilly bounced into the room, and saw Y and Moon casually sitting down on her bed. At least, until the young mage flopped herself down partially onto the bed and partially onto her friends, with a shout, “Hey guys!” 

Y rolled her eyes fondly, before moving to rustle the brunettes hair roughly with her hand. “Does practicing your magic make you that tired that you have to do that? Well? Does it?” 

She protested a little, managing to sit up and escape Y’s teasing, before happily crying out, “Well, a little! I lit some of the books in the tower on fire!” At Moon’s confused look, she clarified, “On accident, of course.” 

“Oh dear..” Whitley sighed, before smiling and sitting down next to Schilly, placing her gloved hand on Schilly’s in a placating manner. 

“It was only a little fire, no big deal!” With a chipper tone and a smiling face, Schilly turned to their resident princess with excited rambling. “But we aren’t here to talk about me, c’mon Moon, let's hear the details about the prince! What’s he like? Is he cool? I’ve heard that he was a super strong mage, do you think he’d wanna practice magic with me?”

Perhaps her excitement was contagious, because Moon flashed her a similar grin. Moon was always so serious when she was in public, but in this room, with the other three of them, she always seemed to loosen up. “I’ll tell you everything I know about him, once I can get a moment to speak.” 

Schilly startled from her thoughts, and laughed sheepishly. “Right, sorry Moon!” 

“It’s quite alright.” She smiled fondly, before growing more serious. “The prince’s name is X,” Y nodded, with a mysterious look on her face. “He’s quite quiet, really. Zones out a lot, but he's polite, doesn’t seem like a bad person. I do think he's scared of me, though.” Moon laughed without mirth, and Schilly frowned. “Then again, he could just be the quiet sort, and he’s still mourning his parents.” 

“That sounds about right.” Y sighed, before clarifying to their matching confused looks. “I knew him when I was younger, we’re childhood friends. And I spoke a little with Lack about him, who said pretty much the same thing.”

Whitwo’s hand tightened on Schilly’s, before she spoke. “Perhaps you should go and speak to him? It was very overwhelming when I first came to work at the castle, a familiar face could help him out a lot.” 

“Yeah! Or, maybe I could go and talk to him, since we’re both mages. Maybe practicing a little would make him feel a little better.” It would also be a great chance to speak to him, Schilly always loved meeting new people, and the Prince sounded super interesting. And if he didn’t have much to say, then she could fill the silence! 

Moon, as their de facto leader in this situation, spoke up with a thoughtful smile. “He’ll be busy today, I doubt he’ll want to see anyone while he waits for his dinner with the rest of the royal family. But I think it would be good if you all spoke with him if you run into him. And Y-”

The blonde sighed, and shot for a smile, though it ended up more like a grimace. “I’ve got plans to talk to him. I don’t think he’ll want to see me very much, but it's worth a shot.” 

“Why wouldn’t he?” Whitwo asked tentatively. “I don’t mean to pry-! Of course, you don’t have to say-”

“No, it’s fine. I won’t go into details, just because it's between me and him. But we had a really big fight before I went into proper knight training. I don't know if he’d want to talk to me of all people, but I’m gonna try and talk to him soon…” Y wasn’t often so pensive, with her head leaning on her hand and a distant look in her eyes. She just looked terribly remorseful, shoulders sloped slightly as if they were held down by the burden of that fight. 

With a slight pout on her face, Schilly thought for a moment, before smiling brightly. “Whatever it is, I’m sure he’ll forgive you!” The blonde’s smile grew slightly more genuine, but that wasn’t enough for the young mage. “I’m sure of it, as long as you apologize, it’ll be no big deal. And if he doesn’t… I might have to… fwoosh!” Making a noise, she lit up the tips of her fingers with a bright and cheery blaze. She would never actually cook royalty, but the joke brought a happier (and perhaps more concerned) look to Y’s face. 

“Schilly, please refrain from lighting fires indoors-!” Whitley squawked, but quieted as the flames extinguished themselves. “But I do have to agree.. It's been years, and time helps things like that. I bet he’d love to speak with you again, and if not, then at least you gave it a shot!” 

“I’d be more than willing to accompany you, if you would feel better with me there.” Moon always spoke with such carefully chosen words, and with a demeanor befitting of a princess. With her hand on her heart like that, it almost looked like she was making a pledge to her own knight, which was more than a little ironic. 

Y looked slightly uncomfortable under all the attention, with a slight blush on her face, but wore a more relieved smile on her face now. “I appreciate it, but I think I’ll be alright on my own. He’d probably get scared with you there, no offense.” 

Tittering fondly behind her gloved hand, Moon smiled. “None taken, dear.”

“You can do it Y!” Schilly dropped Whitley’s hand in favor of surging forwards and grabbing Y’s with both hands, with an enthusiastic cheer, that made Y look away from how intense she was. 

With a giggle, she dropped the knight's hands, and fell back into Whitwo’s lap, who startled for a moment before smiling and running a hand through her hair. “I’m sure it’ll all work out too. You’re too wonderful, there's no way he won’t forgive you, so there's no need to worry about it.”

“Thanks guys.” Y looked like she wanted nothing more than to bury her head in her hands, judging from her fierce blush, but she gave them a warm smile instead. “I’ll do my best, and talk to him soon.”

“I think that would be perfect, thank you.” A satisfied and slight smile still sat on her face as she turned towards the other two. “I’d also like for the two of you to meet with him, if you do get the chance to. He does seem like a pleasant individual, but he needs to open up more.” 

“He’s probably going through a lot.” Whitley often had a thoughtful look on her face, but now she looked especially kind. As much as she wanted to meet the prince, it would probably be best if Whitley met him first. “Perhaps I can try and bring him tea?”

“I think that's a great idea! Tomorrow, I think you should go and talk to him!” Schilly chimed in, giving her friend a beaming smile of encouragement. “You're so nice and thoughtful, I’m sure it’ll go well!”

“Yeah! It’ll be a great idea, Whi.” Y bumped her shoulder affectionately, and smiled lazily, already seeming like her usual happy and supportive self. 

“Ah, I’m not sure.. Would you come with me, Schilly?” She seemed a bit nervous about something, idly braiding and unbraiding strands of Schilly’s hair and not quite meeting their eyes. Though Whitley didn’t seem terribly bothered about meeting X, there must be something else about it..

Well, in any case, “I’d love to go with you! It’ll be fun, and I’ll have your back allll the way, so no one will bother you!” 

Before anyone could respond to that, and the slightly startled expression on Whitley’s face, there was a sharp knock at the door. “Oh! I’ll get it.” Schilly sat up so that the gardener could get to the door, with an inquisitive look on her face. Was she hiding something?

“Heyo!” A cheery voice that all of them recognized rang out. Sun was one of Schilly’s good friends, he hung out with her and Sou a lot. He was a ton of fun! 

“Courier.” Moon said with a now more neutral expression, having schooled it into a placid expression when someone else had walked in. Though she acted a bit cold towards the boy, they were even closer than he was with Schilly and the others, and the ghost of a smile was sneaking up her face. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m here for Miss Schildemilia, Tsurugi wants to have a chat with her, so he sent me to go and grab her. It can wait if you all are in the middle of something, buut it's kinda important, y’know.” With a grin that was probably meant to be conspiratorial, but just came off as excited, he said, “He thinks he might have a lead on where Kilo went off to.” 

“Really!?” She sat up in an instant, and her scorbunny seemed excited as well, though that might’ve been her emotions leaking through their bond. “You really think so? Then let's go right now, c’mon c’mon c’mon!” Schilly had bounded across the room in an instant, barely remembering to wave to her friends before grabbing her pokemon and racing out of the room. Whi’s pigtails swing with the force of her motion as she got out of the way, the mage might be small, but when she was determined, there was absolutely no stopping her. 

“Good luck!” Y called out to them, as Schilly tugged Sun by his sleeve and raced through the hallways, ducking and dodging around servants as her heart pounded in her chest. 

Getting her pokemon back, even just one of them… She had never dreamed of giving up hope of finding them, but it was getting harder to imagine seeing them again. Their faces had grown more vague in her mind, and made her magic unruly and grief-stricken. But even getting one of them back, that was so exciting that she could hardly even stand it. 

Sun and Sou knew as much, and her lovely friends did too. Schilly hadn’t really been herself without those pokemon, they were still a terribly important part of her, even if she hadn’t seen them in months. He didn’t object to being pulled through and out of the castle, their pokemon running alongside them happily. 

It was a long sprint to Sou’s blacksmithery, and by the end of it, she felt like her legs had turned to jelly and her heart would burst. Her friend looked up from his work, studying some papers with a thoughtful expression, before she had crashed into him, grabbing his shoulders. 

“Is it true? Did you really find Kilo?” Now that she was actually here, she could feel her emotions reaching overdrive as she shook her friends shoulder. Sou had a slight smile on his face, but it looked just sad enough to make her fear the worst. 

“I have a lead. A very strong one, at that, and I’m fairly sure that we’ll find him. But it isn’t a guarantee, alright?” His voice was still lilting with excitement, he wanted to find her pokemon just as much as she did, but it was clear that he wasn’t certain. 

She wanted her pokemon back so bad, that it would be hard to wait for the verdict, of whether she got them back or not. If he came back empty handed, Schilly didn’t know what she’d do now that the possibility was so damn close. “Right. I’m sure whatever it is, we’ll be able to handle it! So, where do you think he is?” 

Sou sighed, and looked away for a moment before meeting her eyes. “You won’t like it.” 

“Tell me!” 

“It’s,” If he paused again, Schilly was going to strangle him. “It’s the Alliance.” 

Her heart sank like it had been pulled down like an anchor. “Please tell me you’re joking.” 

How could she ever get back poor little Kilo if they had ahold of him? They were a band of the meanest, cruelest, and strongest villains that had ever lived. Practically every villainous organization and cult had thrown their very best into the Alliance, and they were just two kids. 

“Hey! Don’t worry Schilly,” Sun ran up and placed a hand on her back. “I’ve got some crazy strong friends that owe me, and Sou’s paying them a bunch to do their best to get him back. They're gonna try and trade money for him, but they’re ready to rough them up too. We’re going to get them back!” 

“I’m going with them.” That was great and all, but she just had to go and do it. 

Sou looked like he wanted to let her, but pensively he said, “I’d say it was a good idea, but with your blanking… Your magic might get more in the way than actually help. And if it's a false alarm and Kilo isn’t actually there, things could get really ugly.”

She knew he was right. She knew he was right. But even so, she wanted to be there so badly..

“Yeah, leave this one to them, and once you have Kilo and can get your Blanking under control, you can go and cook the hell out of whatever other bastards have your pokemon!” Sun chimed in, looking sorry, but clearly trying to cheer her up. 

She stayed quiet for a little longer, feeling on the verge of tears. But instead, she sniffed, and nodded. “Right! Alright! Your friends will get Kilo back, and then I can tear up the region looking for the rest of them!” She wouldn’t be able to rest, to sit still and wait without her pokemon with her, but she could do her best to be patient. 

Perhaps if she had been paying more attention and not wiping her eyes, she would’ve seen the twin looks of resolve that flashed between Sun and Sou, or noticed the way that Sun’s hand tightened on the handle of the knives that hung in sheaths at his hips, and the glance that Sou gave to his own trusty blade.

Those were looks of camaraderie and action, and looks that completely escaped the young girls gaze.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyo!! Kinda a souspicious ending yeah? ;) no need to worry about that guys ;) ;)
> 
> Anyways, if you enjoyed, I'd super appreciate if you were to leave me a comment, they make my day :D
> 
> Thank you for reading, and look out for mr sun verry soon :-)

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave a comment if you liked this first chapter! They give me a massive amount of serotonin,,, and I'll respond to all of them! 
> 
> (Also feel free to shoot me a message on discord: Egggy#9891 to tell me to get writing or smthn like that! Also I just want friends to talk about the juniors with pls i promise i am nice ;^;)


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